KC entrepreneurs talk funding, advice over breakfast

June 11, 2015  |  James Hart

KC Skyline1

It can be tough for young, growing companies to find funding in Kansas City, but it’s not impossible.

That was one of the takeaways from Thinking Bigger Business’ BIG Breakfast on June 11 at the Kauffman Foundation. The quarterly breakfast features stories and insights from four local entrepreneurs, many of whom have appeared in recent issues of Thinking Bigger Business.

This time, the panelists included Jeff Blackwood of ABPathfinder, Callie England of Rawxies, Lisa Sackuvich of ARJ Infusion Services and Dr. Michelle Robin of Your Wellness Connection.

England’s company relocated to the West Coast for a time, but eventually moved back to Kansas City, where she’s benefited from working with programs like the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship and plugging into the business community.

She said that it can be more challenging to locate funding here, but pointed to two local groups—the Women’s Capital Connection and the Mid-America Angels—that have helped Rawxies grow.

To read more, visit Thinking Bigger Business Media’s website …

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2015 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Gerald Smith

    Plexpod acquires Think Big Coworking, expanding KC footprint

    By Tommy Felts | December 14, 2017

    Plexpod isn’t playing. Amid Kansas City’s competitive coworking market, Plexpod is doubling down with the acquisition of Think Big Coworking’s 1712 Main Street location, Plexpod founder Gerald Smith said. The acquisition adds more than 30,000 square feet of space to Plexpod’s already large footprint in the area and forges a new partnership between the two…

    Carlanda McKinney, Raaxo

    Raaxo takes shape after pivot from Aphrodite Bra Co’s body scan concept

    By Tommy Felts | December 13, 2017

    Despite its use of body-mapping technology, Aphrodite Bra Company wasn’t the right fit for customers’ needs, said Carlanda McKinney, founder of the newly rebooted custom intimates company Raaxo. “Aphrodite had been stuck in the starting-up space,” she said. “We’d never really gotten enough sales or enough traction to say, ‘We’re launched,’ or, ‘We’re in business.’…

    Ben Rao, Bridge Space, Lee's Summit

    Serial entrepreneur leverages past success for Bridge Space coworking project

    By Tommy Felts | December 12, 2017

    Bridge Space will be more than a coworking office, Ben Rao said. He hopes it will be the heart of Lee’s Summit’s blossoming entrepreneurial ecosystem. “My No. 1 goal is to accelerate entrepreneurs’ success,” said Rao, Bridge Space founder and a serial entrepreneur himself. “It’s an opportunity for me to build something that would make…

    Keliah Smith

    KC mom’s humble entrepreneurial journey draws on healing power of creativity

    By Tommy Felts | December 11, 2017

    Huddled in her parents’ basement, between the cribs of her crying twin babies, Keliah Smith began to draw. She was unemployed and feeling emotionally drained. The relationship with her children’s father had soured. Her escape: the stylus and smartphone in her hands. The Kansas City mother drew what she didn’t see in the mirror, she…